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Mbappe, Rashford & the 20 youngest players at World Cup 2018

This year's tournament offers an opportunity for some of the game's rising stars to shine, but who are the youngest footballers in Russia?

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Written ByLewis Oldham

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#20

Albert Gudmundsson | Iceland | June 15, 1997

Gudmundsson came through the academy at PSV and, after scoring
28 in 63 games for their reserve team, the winger has since been
promoted to the senior side where he has made nine appearances so
far.

The 20-year-old has also made an impressive start to his senior
Iceland career, scoring three goals from his five caps so
far.

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#19

Amine Harit | Morocco | June 18, 1997

Amine Harit came through the academy at French side Nantes and
he impressed enough to earn himself a move to German side Schalke,
where he has made 29 league appearances during his debut
season.

After playing for France at youth level, Harit decided to change
allegiances to represent Morocco and he has three caps so far
after making his debut in October of last year.

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#18

Bassem Srarfi | Tunisia | June 25, 1997

Bassem Srarfi made the move to Nice from Tunisian side Club
Africain on deadline day of the 2017 January transfer
window.

The midfielder has gone onto make 37 appearances in all
competitions for Nice so far and he made his Tunisia debut in
March.

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#17

Rodrigo Bentancur | Uruguay | June 25, 1997

Rodrigo Bentancur officially joined Juventus last summer from
Boca Juniors after impressing for the Argentine outfit.

The midfielder has not been short of first-team opportunities
during his first season, making 27 appearances in all competitions
and he has also been capped six times by Uruguay after making his
debut last September.

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#16

Kasper Dolberg | Denmark | October 10, 1997

Dolberg is another example of Ajax's brilliant youth setup.
Since breaking into the first team in 2016, the forward has scored
32 goals from his 77 appearances in all competitions.

He has so far been capped four times by Denmark and it is only a
matter of time until one of Europe's elite snap up the talented
youngster.

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#15

Nikola Milenkovic | Serbia | October 12, 1997

After coming through the ranks and impressing with Partizan
Belgrade, Nikola Milenkovic made the move to Serie A side
Fiorentina last summer.

The centre-back made 16 league appearances during his debut
season and, since earning his first senior cap for Serbia in 2016,
he has now featured three times for the national team.

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#14

Hamza Mendyl | Morocco | October 21, 1997

Left-back Hamza Mendyl plays for French side Lille and he made
his senior debut in February of last year.

The 20-year-old has already been capped 13 times by Morocco
after making his debut in an African Cup of Nations qualifier in
April 2016.

#13

Edson Alvarez | Mexico | October 24, 1997

Edson Alvarez plays for Mexican side Club América and, since
making his debut in 2016, he has gone on to make 67 appearances in
all competitions.

The defender has also been capped 11 times by Mexico and he got
his debut goal in the Gold Cup against Curaçao when he became
the youngest Mexican player to ever score in the
tournament.

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#12

Marcus Rashford | England | October 31, 1997

Rashford made the most of an injury stricken Manchester United
strike force to break into the first team in 2016, scoring twice on
his debut in the Europa League and then again on his Premier League
bow against Arsenal a few days later.

The forward has gone onto make 123 appearances for United,
scoring 32 goals, as he has become one of England's most exciting
players. He made his case to start in the World Cup stronger by
scoring a wonder goal against Costa Rica last week.

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#11

Luka Jovic | Serbia | December 23, 1997

Last summer Jovic signed on at Eintracht Frankfurt on a
two-year-loan from Benfica. The youngster earned a move to Benfica
in 2016 after scoring 13 in 48 games for Serbian side Red Star
Belgrade.

The striker played his part in scoring eight goals from his 22
league games during his debut season as Frankfurt finished eighth
in the Bundesliga.

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#10

Lee Seung-woo | South Korea | January 6, 1998

Last summer Lee Seung-woo signed for Italian side Hellas
Verona from Barcelona, but the Spanish giants have an option until
2019 to re-sign the winger.

The 20-year-old made 14 league appearances for Verona in his
debut season as they were relegated to Serie B.

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#9

Ismaïla Sarr | Senegal | February 25, 1998

The winger made the switch to Rennes in 2017 after breaking into
the first team with league rivals FC Metz at the age of 18.

The Senegal international has made 24 league appearances during
his debut season for Rennes and he has scored five goals.

#8

Ian Smith | Costa Rica | March 6, 1998

The right-back plays for Swedish side IFK Norrkoping, where he
has made three appearances since signing for them earlier this
year.

He came on as a late substitute for Costa Rica against England
last week as his side were defeated 2-0.

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#7

Jose Luis Rodriguez | Panama | June 19, 1998

The midfielder made the move to Belgium side Gent at the
end of December 2016 after initially joining on loan.

The 19-year-old has been playing for their U21 side all season
and has been capped twice by the Panama senior team before being
included in their World Cup squad.

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#6

Moussa Wague | Senegal | October 4, 1998

The right-back plies his trade for Belgium side Eupen and has
made 28 appearances in all competitions this season.

Claude Makelele is the coach of Wague's Eupen, and the former
Chelsea midfielder masterminded their safety in the Belgium First
Division this year with a 4-0 win on the final day of the league
season.

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#5

Trent Alexander-Arnold | England | October 7, 1998

Alexander-Arnold has had a tremendous breakout campaign for
Liverpool this season, making himself the first-choice right-back
at Anfield.

He played a key role in Liverpool's run to the Champions League
final and he is set to be an integral player for both club and
country in the years to come.

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#4

Francis Uzoho | Nigeria | October 28, 1998

The 19-year-old goalkeeper was promoted into Deportivo La
Coruna's first team and played second fiddle to their No
1 Ruben Ivan Martínez.

Uzoho made his senior debut for Deportivo while he was 18 and
becoming the youngest ever foreign goalkeeper to
debut in La Liga.

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#3

Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | November 4, 1998

The Moroccan full-back broke through the ranks at Real Madrid's
this season after making 28 appearances for their reserve team last
year.

The 19-year-old has become Dani Carvajal's back-up this season
and has made nine league appearances, scoring his first La Liga
goal against Sevilla in December.

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#2

Kylian Mbappe | France | December 20, 1998

The France international rose to prominence breaking into the
first team at Monaco at the age of 16 and he soon asserted himself
as one of the most promising young players in world football.

His form earned him an initial loan move to Paris
Saint-Germain last summer and he scored 21 goals in all
competitions during his debut season and a permanent move to Parc
des Princes will make him the second most expensive player
ever behind team-mate Neymar.

#1

Daniel Arzani | Australia | January 4, 1999

The attacking midfielder is the only player born in the year
1999 to be playing at this year's World Cup.

Arzani, who made 20 appearances in all competitions for
Melbourne City this season, has already been capped twice by
Australia and scored his first senior goal last week against
Hungary.